Apartment as Airbnb / Short-Term Rental: Is It Legal, Is Permission Required?

What Is Short-Term Rental, and Why the Problem?

Renting a unit to tourists or short-term guests on a daily/weekly basis (Airbnb-style) causes serious disputes in apartment living. Constantly changing strangers, security concerns, noise, and intensive use of common areas may disturb other residents. For this reason, the matter must be addressed in both its neighborly and legal dimensions.

The Legal Framework: The Housing Tourism Law

Under the law regulating the rental of housing for tourism purposes, strict conditions have been imposed for an apartment unit to be rented on a short-term/daily basis. Most importantly: for a unit to be rented for this purpose, as a rule, the unanimous consent of all unit owners in the building is required. That is, even if a single owner opposes, the unit cannot be rented daily.

Why Unanimity?

The unanimity requirement is a heavy condition and has been placed intentionally. Short-term rental changes the residential character of the building and affects all residents. For such an impactful change, the law seeks the highest majority (everyone's consent). This is completely different from an ordinary rental; such consent is not required for a normal (long-term) rental.

What If Rented Without Permission?

If a unit is rented daily without the required permission, the other owners may both apply to the administrative authorities and take legal action. Unauthorized rental for tourism purposes is subject to serious sanctions, including administrative fines. In addition, neighbors gain legal rights due to the disturbance; we covered these rights in our neighbor disturbance article.

What Can Management Do?

Management that detects the unauthorized daily rental of a unit must record the situation and first give a written warning to the owner concerned. If no result is obtained, the legal process may be initiated by decision of the board of unit owners. We explained in detail what management can do in this matter in our Airbnb and management article.

Common Mistakes

• Unauthorized rental: Short-term rental without unanimity is subject to legal sanction.
• Confusing with normal rental: Long-term rent and daily rental are subject to different regimes.
• Not documenting the detection: If management moves without recording the violation, it will struggle.

This content is for informational purposes. Short-term rental legislation may change and is interpreted according to the specific case; consult a legal counsel.